“You will have more funding than the university could ever offer.”

“I don’t want a position here,” I spat, tears of anger finally stinging my eyes.

“I wanted my doctorate.”

“I wanted the degree I earned.”

“You betrayed me.”

“I protected you,” Arthur said, his eyes hardening.

“You are naive about how the business world works.”

“Your research is too valuable to be left in the hands of an academic committee.”

He reached out and tapped the top of one of the hard drives.

“Hunter was more than willing to cooperate once I made him an offer,” he continued.

“He is a greedy boy, but he knows how to play the game.”

“And Barbara?” I asked. “What did you offer her?”

“Barbara wants security for her family,” my father said.

“We reached an agreement that benefits everyone.”

“Except me,” I said.

“You would have been left with nothing if the university took the patent,” he argued.

“This way, the wealth stays within the Hayes family.”

“You don’t understand the forces at play here, Evelyn.”

“I had to make a deal with Hunter’s new corporate allies to ensure we got the data first.”